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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. club — for golf
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. root — of a word
  11. club — a group
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. root — of a plant
  14. ball — a dance
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. hand — in cards
  18. root — the cause
  19. club — for dancing
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. hand — help
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ball — a round shape

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com